Promotion and Tenure Overview

The process for academic promotion aims to validate faculty achievements by formal awards of title and seniority. Faculty members must familiarize themselves with the expectations for promotion specific to their track, see Guidelines for Promotion and Tenure (Word document). Tenure track faculty members must also be aware of the time restrictions on applying for tenure and for transfer to the clinical scholar track. Academic promotion should be a continuous process, beginning at recruitment and formally monitored at least annually as part of regular faculty review. Faculty members must discuss academic promotion with their department chair. Junior faculty members are required to identify a mentor or mentors early in their careers to provide additional advice on promotion and tenure and other faculty development issues. Open informational meetings on the promotion and tenure process are held every spring, and faculty are encouraged to contact the Office of Professional Development and Faculty Affairs (PDFA) in Kansas City or the Office of Faculty Development (OFD) in Wichita any time they have questions.  ALL faculty who have decided to apply for promotion and or tenure are strongly encouraged  to contact Jo Halverson in Kansas City or Marianne Eyles in Wichita to schedule a meeting to review their SOM formatted curriculum vitae.

 Changes in 2013

• All documents will be submitted online - NO PAPER COPIES ARE REQUIRED.

• The letter of intent has been replaced by a REGISTRATION FORM.  This form must be accurately completed to qualify for promotion consideration and signed by you and your Chair.  (You will need to give the completed Registration Form to your chair to sign after you've met to discuss your request for promotion.) 

• The SOM CV has been updated to include more detail in the instructions for each section.  The format of the CV has not changed.  If you already have converted your CV to the required SOM formatted CV prior to these updates, please review the 2013 updated CV on our website to be sure you've included everything you need under each section of the CV.  The additional detailed information is taken from the document "Instructions for Faculty Applying for Promotion and/or Tenure" in an effort to clarify each section of the CV.

2013 Timelines

The call for applications for academic promotion and award of tenure is made each year in the Spring and the deadline for receipt of applications is September 1, or the following Monday, if September 1 falls on Saturday or Sunday (due to the Labor Day holiday, the deadline for 2013 is September 3). Links to application materials and instructions are provided at left. Blank copies of these documents will also be in your online SharePoint submission folder, if you are approved for nomination.

Department Chairs and Department Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Committees will be expected to review your application and provide feedback to you no later than August 1st.

These timelines:

• ensure that every faculty member who is interested in applying for promotion is offered the opportunity to discuss his/her application with a representative from PDFA (KC) or OFD (Wichita);
• allow Departmental Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Committees sufficient notice and the time required to schedule their meetings and thoroughly review each request for promotion and/or the award of tenure;
• provide the Department Chair with the recommendation from the Departmental Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee in a timely manner resulting in an earlier response to the faculty member;
• provide the faculty member earlier access to the required documents needed to complete his/her application; and
• allow the campus Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee to schedule their meetings earlier and work more efficiently.

A PAPER COPY OF YOUR APPLICATION IS NO LONGER REQUIRED. See "Submission Checklist" for complete list of required documents. If you are considering an application for promotion this Fall, please join us at one of the training sessions to be announced by email. If your department has a designated staff member who assists in the preparation of your documents, he/she is also welcome to attend one of the training sessions.

For additional information on the process, individuals should contact Jo Halverson (8-5274) and/or Laura Jennemann (8-5765) in Kansas City or Marianne Eyles in Wichita (3-3560), or the Associate Dean for Professional Development and Faculty Affairs, Robert Klein, Ph.D. in Kansas City (8-2739), or the Associate Dean for Faculty Development in Wichita, Anne Walling, MB ChB (3-2607).